The Woman on Display
by iheartvesper
Summary: Booth and Brennan start working on a new case when a set of remains is found at a very familiar spot.
1. On the Top of the World

**A/N: So, this is my first fanfic ever. It's a case fic but some BB action is bound to happen. I have to warn you: I'm not an expert on FBI protocol or things like that so there will be inaccuracies on that part, I apologize. Well anyway, enjoy (or at least, try not to hate it)!**

**Disclaimer: I own bones but I don't own Bones.**

Booth entered the airport, walking straight to the arrivals board and trying to find the arriving flight from Egypt. He didn't need to stay there for long as he heard a distant, familiar voice: his partner's. He could recognize her voice immediately. Soon he realized that his partner was in fact having an argument with someone. He walked around trying to locate her and finally found her at the baggage claim. He felt amused as he watched her rage at an airport employee, yelling and pointing a finger at him.

"I want that bag located NOW. The content of the bag is irreplaceable and I swear, if you don't find it in the next ten minutes, I will have the FBI on you before you know it!"

The man tried to stay calm and reason with the lady in front of him. "Miss, we are doing everything we can to find the missing bag. You needn't worry, I'm sure it will appear sooner or later."

"It's Dr. Brennan, and the 'later' part isn't an option. I want.."

Booth now emerged from the distance, figuring that if he didn't stop the situation in time the airport employee would soon be lying on the floor with a nosebleed.

"Hey Bones, what's up?"

Brennan was too enraged to even realize who was asking the question. "The airport seems to have lost my bag, the most imp..." She now noticed that it was her partner standing next to her. "Wait, Booth, what are you doing here?"

"I came to pick you up. Now, maybe you could take a deep breath or two and give these people time to find your bag, okay?"

The man next to them took the chance to talk now that the woman finally seemed to remain silent. "Dr. Brennan, we'll contact you as soon as we locate the bag. Don't worry, sometimes these bags just get lost but almost all of them are found."

Brennan shot gamma rays of hate out of her eyes and snatched the 'missing baggage' form from the man. She filled it out, gave it back to the man and stormed off, Booth following her.

"Whoa, slow down Bones! It's hard to keep up." Brennan kept on going, mumbling fiercely to herself. Soon she was outside and suddenly realized she wasn't sure which direction she was heading. Booth joined her and pointed towards the parking lot. "There's the car." They started walking towards the car, Brennan finally calming down a bit.

"Now, would you like to tell me what was so important with that bag?" Booth asked as he unlocked the car.

"It had a skull in it. An ancient skull that I was going to examine. They could've lost the bag with my clothes and such, but no, they had to lose the one with the irreplaceable skull." She got in the car.

As they drove off, Booth tried to calm her down. "Well these things happen. But I'm positive they will find it. Now, I assume you've been working during your vacation again? You managed to have any fun?"

"I did have fun, I was involved in a dig. There were plenty of ancient remains. I could've stayed even longer."

Booth felt amused. If anyone else would have said that, it would have sounded like a joke. But with Brennan it was sincere, and he knew it. After a short silence she asked: "What did you do on your vacation?"

"Well not much. I spent some time with Parker, we went to the zoo and a ball game. I think he had a good time." Brennan nodded and silence fell again. "Look Bones, there was a reason I came to pick you up."

"So you didn't come to pick me up just.. to pick me up?"

"Yeah um... We've got a case. A body was found this morning."

"Somehow I'm not surprised."

They arrived at the FBI building and Booth parked the car. "Why are we here?" Brennan wondered.

"This is where the body is." Booth answered and crossed the street. Brennan hurried after him and started ranting. "The FBI transferred the body here? Why would they do that? First of all, it's probable that they have compromised the remains and second, there's no decent storage room for the remains here and I can't even imagine what the temperature here has done to the bones. I can't believe..."

Booth interrupted her. "Just save your breath, you'll understand soon." He knew that she always took her work seriously and he appreciated it. But sometimes she would go over to the obsessive side.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon they were at the roof of the building, facing a body with no flesh tied to a pole on the edge of the roof.

_What did you like, what did you not like? Please review!_


	2. Bones is Back

**A/N: Second chapter's up. Thank you for your reviews for chapter 1, I was so excited that people actually read it! If you are going to read this chapter too, I hope to hear what you liked and disliked in it. That's the only way I can improve my writing... Well, enough with my babbling. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, ok?**

_Previously: B&B were facing the body at the roof. _

"Oh." Brennan simply stated. "So THIS is why the body is in here."

"Yep... Go do your thing." Booth then turned around to ask some questions from the woman who had found the remains.

Brennan walked closer to the pole that was situated at the edge of the roof. She quickly estimated the victim's sex and age, and also came to the conclusion that the victim had played golf as a hobby. Brennan tried to get a closer look at the remains, but the pole was too high and too far away at the edge. Without hesitating she climbed on to the edge of the roof, concentrating on the victim. Booth heard the commotion rising behind him and turned around to see what was going on. His heart skipped a beat as he saw Bones standing on the edge. He hurried over there.

"Hey Bones, what about if you stepped down from there?"

Clearly not listening, Brennan answered: "The victim is female, approximately 18-22 years old. A golf player. Obviously the body has decomposed somewhere else first and has then been moved here."

"Alrighty, now that we got that figured out, you can come down. Bones?" He offered his hand.

"Well, technically _I_ figured it out." She then climbed down from the edge, not even noticing Booth's offer for help. She noticed everyone's eyes on her. "Why is everybody staring at me?" she asked Booth.

Booth rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I have no idea. Maybe next time you could skip the Spiderman-act and behave like a normal person?" He met her confused look and sighed. "Never mind."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brennan had gone home, showered and changed and was now at the lab. She and Zack were cleaning up the bones, Hodgins was examining the so-called dirt that was found on the remains.

"Isn't anyone else puzzled by the fact that a dead body was found at the roof of the FBI BUILDING? Come on people, this is so obviously a cover-up." Hodgins kept on ranting, already forming a number of conspiracy theories in his head.

"Logically it wouldn't be a wise move for the FBI to leave the body at their own roof." Zack said without looking up from the rib he was polishing.

"A-ha! Exactly. They figured that no one would suspect them if the body was placed at their headquarters."

Suddenly Booth strolled in. Hodgins turned back to his microscope. "And here comes one of them." he mumbled to himself, referring to Booth.

"You got anything yet?" Booth directed his question at Brennan.

"Nothing that has been affirmed yet. You?"

"Well apparently there was a complete shutdown of the security cameras at 1:35 a.m. today. It lasted for 14 minutes. The security guard couldn't get the cameras working himself. At 1:49 they got on again." Booth hesitated before saying what he was about to say. "The bottom line is, I can't imagine how an outsider could have gotten up to the roof without anyone noticing. The building never sleeps, there's always someone working."

"Are you suspecting it was an inside job?" Brennan finally gazed up from the remains. The look on Hodgins' face was triumphant and slightly arrogant.

"I'm saying that the person had access to the building. It could have been any employee of the FBI." Booth explained.

Hodgins rolled his eyes. "Sure, none of you knows anything..."

Booth shot a freezing glare at the man and continued what he was saying. "All that I can do at this point is ask the people who were working at that hour some questions. Let me know if and when you find something from all this squinty stuff."

All the three scientists had already gotten back to what they were doing. Booth clapped his hands together once. "Okay then..." He quietly exited the platform.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was late at night and Brennan was still at the lab. She had allowed Zack and Hodgins to go home, but Angela hadn't been that lucky. Now that they knew the cause of death, they needed to replay the scene on the Angelator. While the hologram people fought in front of them, Brennan explained the details in her usual professional, some would say cold, tone.

"The killer must have been at least six feet tall, that's the most logical way the injuries on the left shoulder can be explained. That also indicates that the killer is right-handed. The fractures on the victim's ulnas tell us that she has tried to protect herself from the blows with her arms. But the killer's height and strength have overpowered the victim and led to her death, caused by a blow to the head. There are many broken bones in different parts of her body which indicates that this was a very violent death. It is possible that some of the blows have happened post mortem, but I wouldn't know for sure."

Angela ended the program with a sigh.

"This really makes me reconsider my position as a people-person."

"If you start working on the sketch of the victim's face now and I'll start examining the injuries on the skull to find out the murder weapon when you're finished. We must identify the victim before anything else."

"Um, Bren, it's ten o'clock. I was thinking of going home, and you know what? You should be doing that too. Aren't you experiencing any jet lag?"

Brennan glanced at her watch in disbelief. She hadn't realized the time and now felt a bit embarrassed for keeping her friend at work so late. "Apparently not... Sorry, Ange, of course you can go home. I didn't realize what time it was."

Angela smiled slightly. "It's ok, I've gotten used to it." She yawned and continued: "Now, are you going to go home voluntarily or am I going to have to drag you out of here?"

"Neither. I'll stay for a little while longer, I want to find out the murder weapon." Brennan answered, her mind still on the case. When she saw Angela's slightly frustrated look she assured her she would only stay for an hour or two at the maximum. Angela was too tired to argue with her and started to gather her things. "Temperance Brennan, you amaze me to no end." She smiled at the woman in question and headed to the door. "Good night."

"Good night." Brennan had expected an argument over her staying at the lab and was relieved when that didn't occur. She walked over to the platform, put on a pair of latex gloves and picked up the skull. But her mind couldn't focus on the skull for long as her eyelids began to feel heavy. "I guess the jet lag got to me anyway.", she thought. She placed the skull on the examination table and walked to her office. She lay down on the couch and let sleep take over her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	3. Breakthroughs

**A/N: Third chapter's up. Thanks for reviewing, tiny little chocolate Jaspers to all of you! I'm keeping the chocolate Booths to myself, muahahahahaa. **

**Disclaimer: Nah, don't own Bones. Not now, not ever. **

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You have the sketch yet?" Booth inquired Angela at the door of her office.

"In a half an hour or so," Angela responded from her desk where she was drawing.

"Excellent." Booth still lingered at the door, trying to make what he was about to ask sound casual. "Listen, I've heard a rumour that you have some friends..."

"Uh, yes, I do have friends."

"Well, I meant.. Uh... Anyone who'd be interested in attending a party with me?"

"What party?"

"Well it's not exactly a party, more like a gala... It's this annual FBI thing where everyone gets wasted and do their best trying to ignore the lousy comedian who's been hired there."

"So you're asking me if I have any hot friends that you could show off at this gala," Angela simplified.

Booth pondered for a while. "Basically, yeah."

"You're not taking Brennan?"

"What? No... I don't think she'd be interested."

"And asking is out of the question?"

Booth started to get uncomfortable with this conversation. "You know what, forget the whole thing. I was never here. Go back to sketching the victim, hmm?"

"Hit the sore spot, didn't I?" Angela had a soft grin on her face. Booth shrugged her question off and headed toward the platform. There he spotted Hodgins.

"You got anything for me?" Booth inquired.

"Plenty. I found traces of _Thelypteris palustris._"

"And this is some plant that can be found at only one spot in the world and therefore tells us exactly where the body has been rotting all these months?" Booth blurted out, irritated by the fact that Hodgins was again using incomprehensible words.

"Uh, no... But this plant grows only near swamps."

"Well, that's a start."

"I also found traces of plenty of other, more common plants that can be found almost anywhere."

"Great, thanks Hodgins." The entomologist responded with a simple nod. "Hey, is Bones here?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brennan was sitting at her desk, thinking. She had been thinking a long time and was finally coming to a conclusion. She wasn't even paying attention at her partner who had appeared at the doorway. She sat there, staring straight ahead, playing with her pen.

"Hey Bones."

Silence.

"Bones?"

"He had a shoulder injury," she said without looking away from the spot she had been staring.

"Who?"

"The killer."

"How do you know?"

"Well we went over the scenario with the Angelator last night, but something bothered me with it." She had now turned toward Booth in her chair and had an enthusiastic glint in her eyes. "I couldn't figure it out until I woke up on that couch. The way the blows were centred on the victim's left side and the shoulder of the right side indicates that the killer had a shoulder injury that prevented his arm's movement sideways."

"Maybe the injury was caused by the victim?"

"No, there's no way she could've caused that big an injury considering the condition she was in."

Angela now strolled in to the office. "What are we talking about?"

"The killer and his injured shoulder," Brennan answered, her cheeks still slightly pink from the satisfaction her realization had brought.

"So now we have to find an FBI employee who has a shoulder injury. Great. No big deal," Booth pointed out sarcastically.

Angela saw her opportunity. "Well, what about the gala?"

Brennan furrowed her brow. "What gala?"

"Angela..." Booth tried to have a warning tone. But Angela ignored it.

"Everyone from the FBI building is invited, right? So if you take Brennan, she can probably spot if someone has a shoulder injury."

"Take me where?" Brennan tried to intervene.

"Angela, that makes no sense. There's no way that everyone from the Hoover building is going to show up. And there's probably a number of people with a sore shoulder there, agents tend to get hurt out in the field."

"Or, just maybe the killer will show up and you'll have caught him in record time." Angela stared at Booth with a challenging look, Booth completely aware of what she was trying to do. He didn't come up with anything to say and just gave up.

"Fine, I guess it's worth a shot."

"Excuse me, what are you two talking about?"

Booth and Angela now noticed the confused Brennan and Booth realized he still had to talk her into going. But luckily Angela beat him to it.

"There's an FBI gala tomorrow and you two are going because the killer might be there."

"But the odds of him being there-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, we've already gone through that. You're going."

"I don't exactly like being told what to do, Angela."

Booth snorted. "There's a shocker..." Brennan looked over at Booth with piercing eyes and he quickly looked away. Looking back at Angela, she added: "But I guess this is relevant for the case and therefore I will agree. So, what does one wear to this gala?"

"Evening wear."

"So now I have to get something to wear? I don't have time for that, I'm swamped with this case and-"

Angela interrupted. "Speaking of which, I have the sketch for you now. You know, if you two aren't too busy with your party."

Booth couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why didn't you tell us right away?"

"Well, I though it might be more fun this way. And I was right!" Angela turned around, laughing, and headed toward her office. Booth and Brennan followed. Angela got her sketch pad from her desk and handed it to Booth. Both him and Brennan stared at the sketch for a long time without saying anything.

"Wow," Booth broke the silence. "She's beautiful." Angela nodded knowingly. "Well, let's run this through the database." Angela went to the computer and did her thing.

"There's a match: Dana Ward, 18. Went missing eight months ago without a trace."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Booth and Brennan stood at the door, waiting for someone to answer it. Finally, a man opened the door. He was forty-something and very kind-looking.

"Mr. Ward?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth from the FBI and this is Dr. Temperance Brennan from the Jeffersonian Institute."

The man's face lit up, showing hope and fear at the same time. "Is this about Dana?"

"Yes, it is. Could we come inside?"

"Please do." The man gestured them in and called his wife to come downstairs. Once everyone was introduced, Booth prepared himself for what he was about to tell them. He started with a line he hated, but was obliged, to say. It was a line that practically told everything.

"You should really sit for this."

And from that point on it was not in any way unclear to the couple in front of them what he was going to tell them. Like Booth had expected, they had their breakdown as he explained further details of their daughter's death. He knew there was nothing he could do to console them and decided it was time to leave. He left his card on the table and the father nodded as a sign of acknowledgement of the gesture as he was holding his wife. Booth led Brennan out of the house and they got into the SUV.

"So, what do we do now?" Brennan inquired as they pulled out of the driveway.

"Now we have some interviewing to do," Booth replied determinedly. Trying to lighten up the mood, he added: "And remember, you have some shopping to do before tomorrow."

She smiled and looked out of the window. "I guess I do."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N again: So not much happened in this chapter but the next one should include going to the gala. First review this one so that I can continue writing the next one:) **


End file.
